Summary

Chapter 23 continues with Evan and Grace meeting at dusk as he pondered if they would miss the world once it was gone. They were the first of their kind that each of them had met, and they did not believe it to be an accident. While Evan feared the future, Grace was struck by the loneliness of her situation and feared that the entity inside her was merely the figment of a young girl's imagination.

Determined to keep his promise to Cassie in Chapter 24, Evan stands, and since Grace does not fire, he realizes that she plans to follow him instead to solve the riddle. Although he fears that keeping his promise will be a betrayal, he continues forward, forcing Grace to choose between following him and maintaining her post.